Things That Go Bump in the Night
by x0-vindicated-0x
Summary: When Derek and Casey get grounded for the weekend, they try to sneak out to go to a party using George's new car. But trouble arises when they accidently put a dent in the car. cowritten with Infidi
1. Secrets Told, New and Old

**Hello, readers. We, yes _we_, are here to give you our (Dasey) version of the upcoming episode, 'Things That Go Bump in the Night'. There are two writers on this story; Syd (x0-Vindicated-0x) and Anna (Infidi). We are writing this story together. It shouldn't be too hard because we have like, the exact same thought train. Seriously, we are twins, with the alter-ego of Wondercat and Batzilla ... and unless we have told you this story, that probably made no sense, but trust us, it does. Anyway, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: Since we couldn't decide which one of us should get rights to LWD, neither of us did. That means we don't own it. (**

**Chapter One: Secrets Told; New and Old**

Casey was lying on her bed, her face buried into her pillow, and her hands glued to her side like dead fig leaves. She had her head titled a little to the right, forming an air pocket that allowed her to breathe, and remain in her depressive slump for hours on end. She lay there, just breathing; no thinking or feeling or wishing. Just breathing. Girls tend to go into a great depth of denial when they are in fear, or extremely upset about something. They have an absurd tendency of punishing themselves for not doing anything wrong; damned estrogen.

"Derek," Lizzie said slowly, pausing in Derek's doorway, a frightened look on her face. "I think Casey is dead."

"Don't worry, Lizzie; Casey's not dead." Derek said, standing up and crossing the room to stand next to her.

He nodded towards Casey's open door.

"That there, is a girl who has been dumped, hard."

"Poor Casey!" Lizzie sighed, shooting a sympathetic look towards her sister's bedroom.

"Oh _please,_ Max wasn't _that_ great." Derek said, rolling his eyes and returning back to his desk, slumping down in his chair again. His gaze returned almost instantly to the screen in front of him, and he appeared to be very interested in whatever it was he was reading.

Lizzie hesitated in Derek's doorway again, before letting curiosity get the better of her, and crossing the room to stand next to her stepbrother.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously, trying to get a glimpse of his computer screen. She leaned over his shoulder, but Derek leaned forwards and pressed the off button, glaring at Lizzie over his shoulder.

"What are you and Sam talking about?" she asked, clearly having caught a glimpse of Sam's chat window.

Derek scowled at her, turning his chair around to face her.

"Nothing for you to be worried about." he said, standing up and pulling her up with him. He led her towards the door, carefully guiding her with his hand. "Now go on, go downstairs, and stop being so nosy."

"But there's nothing to do downstairs." Lizzie whined, turning to face him again. "Edwin's at Teddy's, Marti's outside, and Mom and George are still at work."

"Well go help Casey." he suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "Someone needs to make sure she doesn't turn _too_ overdramatic over this whole Max thing."

Lizzie rolled her eyes, but took his advice, and wandered off towards her older sister's bedroom, grumbling to herself about bossy stepbrothers. Derek shrugged, and returned to his bedroom, making sure that he locked his door behind him this time; he didn't need anymore unnecessary distractions.

Sighing, he picked up the phone, and dialed in Sam's number, deciding that he might as well finish his conversation over the phone. He waited for a few seconds, tapping his fingers impatiently against the edge of his computer desk. After a moment, Sam picked up.

"Sorry about that," he said instantly, knowing that Sam would know what he was talking about. "Lizzie was being nosy ... again. The last thing I need is for our conversations to end up in their notes as research."

"I thought they gave up on teenage research?" Sam asked, clearly chewing on something.

Derek shrugged to himself.

"I've lost track of those two." he said simply, before moving on. "Anyway, about the party tomorrow night-"

"Dude, you are going to have the hottest date there." Sam said, sounding slightly jealous, yet impressed. "I mean, come on, Lollita Espinoza? How'd you manage that? She's been here, what? A month? She speaks only like eight words of English."

"First off, give me the credit I deserve; I'm Derek Venturi." Derek said smugly, tucking one hand under his arm and smirking at his wall. "A month is a disappointment, for me. Second of all, you're jumping _way_ ahead of yourself here. My date with Loweata-"

"Lollita," Sam corrected him instantly.

"Whatever," Derek dismissed, waving a hand absent mindedly. "My date is tonight. I'm letting her sweat it out and ask me to the party, if all goes well tonight. It's not a done deal yet."

"Yeah but ... you're Derek Venturi." Sam said, and Derek smirked again. "Moving on; where's this chick from anyway, D?"

"Uh, I forget." he said, scratching his head. "But it's something spicy sounding. Argentina ... Chile?"

"Um, dude, I think it's Equador."

"No dude, that's in France." Derek said, shaking his head. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. She's hot, she's foreign, and she's going out with me. There's nothing else to it."

"I guess so." Sam said, knowing it was best not to argue with Derek when he was in ego-mode. "So you're definitely going to Alana's party tomorrow, right?"

"Dude, a room full of hot half naked dancing girls and awesome music? Since when do I miss out on that sort of thing?"

"So your parents are actually letting you go to this party?" Sam asked, sounding surprised. He sighed. "Wow, I would have thought that they'd want to keep you away from the party scene, after you broke your curfew by an hour and a half last time."

Derek laughed.

"Please; they don't even know I'm going." he said, cursing his best friend's regard for morality and ethics. "Dad and Nora are taking the kids out to some ... celebration dinner thing. Dad got a raise yesterday, and he feels the need to celebrate. Me and Casey practically begged them to leave us behind. It took a while, but we managed."

''So Casey's going to this thing too, then?" Sam asked, not sounding all that surprised. Much to Derek's initial dismay, Casey's popularity status had been continually climbing throughout the year, ever since she started dating Max. She wasn't quite as popular as Derek, of course, but she wasn't the klutzy, grade grubber that she had once been, either.

Derek sighed, using his foot to shift the chair back and forth casually.

"I guess so." he said, rolling his eyes. "That is, if she manages to stop crying long enough to leave the house."

"Crying?" Sam asked, sounding articulately concerned. "Why? What happened?"

"You didn't hear?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow. "Her and Max broke up today."

"Really?" Sam asked, sounding surprised. He let out a low whistle. "Wow; Casey must be heartbroken. Is she okay? What happened?"

"Why is everybody so interested in Casey's life, all of a sudden?" Derek asked, scowling. "They broke up. They're sixteen years old; it happens. People break up everyday; can we move on from it already?"

Sam dropped the topic after that, sensing that Derek was in no mood to discuss Casey, or her love life. Derek always hated discussing Casey's relationships; that was something Sam had learned during his own relationship with Casey. Whenever he had brought up one of their dates, or the fact that they were even together, Derek had quickly changed the topic. What did Sam expect? It wasn't like he wanted to listen to someone ramble on about something as boring as Casey's life.

- - - -

Twenty minutes later, Derek ended his phone conversation with Sam, and left his room. As he passed by Casey's bedroom door, which was wide open, he noticed that she was no longer in there, meaning that she had finally decided to move. He didn't know where she was and, quite frankly, he didn't care.

He jumped down the last two steps, giving him a running start to his chair. He was just about to throw himself into it when he realized that it was already occupied; by Casey, who was staring blankly at the TV. He stood in front of the chair and folded his arms across his chest angrily, scowling at his stepsister.

"I don't know if you've noticed or not, but that thing you're currently sitting on? Yeah, that's my chair. And anyone who sits in my chair, might not get another opportunity to stand."

He expected a fight from her. He anticipated that she'd yell at him to stop being such an insensitive jerk, and then stay where she was.

So he was very surprised when she stood up without a word, and moved to the couch. She rested her elbow on the arm of it, placing her chin in her hand, and staring straight ahead at the wall in front of her.

Derek stood there for a moment, taken by surprise at her obedience. Raising an eyebrow, he cautiously took a seat in his chair, half expecting it to blow up. He slowly kicked his feet up on the footrest, and leaned back, making himself comfortable. His eyes never left Casey.

"Girls do weird things when they're emotional." he said, shaking his head.

Casey turned at this, her expression half angry, half curious, yet still filled with the sadness that had been there all along.

"Extrapolate." she said simply, her eyes glued to his.

"Huh?" he said, scratching his head, and shifting in his seat, considering Casey's gaze was making him abruptly uncomfortable. "Extropowhat?"

"Extrapolate." she said again, raising an eyebrow at him.

He blinked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"It means ... expand." she said slowly, grabbing a package of gummy bears off of the coffee table, and popping one into her mouth. "Explain to me why you think I'm emotional."

"Well," he started, muting the TV so that Casey could hear what he was saying. "You're wearing grey, which usually means you're depressed, or sad, or angry, and you're shoving gummy bears into your mouth faster than I can get to the caf on pizza day." he noted, as she shoved another handful of the candy into her mouth.

She paused, her mouth hanging half open, before she threw the bag onto the coffee table again, swallowing what was left of the candy.

"Besides," Derek added quickly, wanting to get the rest out as quickly as possible, for fear of upsetting Casey. "It's already all over the school that Max dumped you."

"_I _dumped _him_!" Casey hissed angrily, snatching the gummy bears up again and tossing a fresh batch into her mouth, glaring at the TV again.

"Uh huh, sure you did, Case." Derek said, smirking. "You wouldn't dump Max. He's what keeps you known in our school. Without him, you'd still be known as Derek Venturi's klutzy, grade grubbing, stepsister."

"Excuse me; but I believe people know me as more than Max's girlfriend, or your stepsister." Casey said, not even convinced of her own words. Nonetheless, she was determined not to let Derek win this argument. "I can earn my own reputation around school; thank you very much."

"Yeah, because the whole klutzy thing was working real well for you, Case." he commented sarcastically, grabbing the gummy bears from her, and popping a few into his mouth. "So tell me, why'd Max dump you?"

"I thought I told you-"

"Cut the crap, Casey." he laughed, pouring the remainder of the candy into his mouth, and stuffing the empty package into the seat of his chair. "It's just me here. So go on; what was it? Were you being too much of a super-keener?"

"Shut it, Derek." she said angrily, scowling at him before she leaned back against the couch again, hugging her knees tightly to her chest.

"Nah; Max is enough of a pretty boy himself; turning himself in for cheating on a math exam, honestly."

"I told you to shut up!"

"Maybe that's why he broke it off then; maybe you're too high maintenance." Derek decided, grinning. "I mean, you do bitch at him an awful lot, don't you?"

"I'm warning you, Derek."

"Or maybe he just moved onto someone better-" he started, but he never got a chance to finish before Casey had leaned over the arm of the couch, and had pulled him towards her, her hands pulling aggressively on the collar of his t-shirt.

"Not a word!" she hissed at him, shaking with anger.

Before Derek got a chance to respond, the front door opened, and in walked their parents, carrying a few bags of groceries.

"We're home!" Nora called out to the household in general. "George, help me put these groceries away; Derek, call your brother at Teddy's and tell him to come home; Lizzie, go find Marti and tell her to come inside for supper; Casey, stop killing Derek."

With that said, she sauntered off into the kitchen, looking fairly flustered. Casey rolled her eyes, but let go of Derek's shirt, leaving it wrinkled around the collar, and grabbed the remote off the arm of his chair, unmuting the TV, and turning on one of her favorite soap operas. She needed to mope over someone else's problems for a change.

- - - -

"White interior, it's simply amazing." George was drawling on, a dreamy gleam dancing in his eyes. He sighed, poking around at his food with his fork. "The greatest car I've ever owned."

"Yeah Dad, you're in love, we get it." Edwin said, taking a sip of his milk, and rolling his eyes when his father wasn't looking.

"Casey?" Nora asked, noticing that her daughter hadn't taken more than two bites of her supper, and was currently staring sadly at the salt shaker. Casey raised her head in recognition of her name, and Nora smiled warmly. "What do you think of the new car? Do you like it?"

"Hmm?" she asked, still spaced out. Derek laughed, and she scowled at him, before shaking her head, and smiling. "Oh yeah, the car. Mmhmm; it's great. I love it."

"Are you sure you're okay?" her mother asked, frowning slightly. "You don't seem yourself."

"Casey got dumped." Marti said pleasantly, shoving a spoonful of peas into her mouth.

Casey couldn't find it in her to be mad at Marti for making such a statement; it wasn't like she knew the difference.

"Max broke up with you?" her mother asked, her voice laced with sympathy. She placed a hand gently on her daughter's shoulder. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry. You must be crushed."

"For everybody's information, I broke up with Max." Casey said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Everybody looked doubtful, and she straightened up a bit, trying to make herself look more confident. "Really; I did!"

"Uh huh, now let's move onto the more interesting, more mentally-stable, teenager of the house." Derek said, motioning towards himself.

Casey gave a disgusted sigh, and looked away.

"Dad, I sort of need to borrow the car tonight." Derek said, waving his fork at his father. "I've got a date."

"You're taking the old car." his father said instantly, ignoring the way Derek's face fell. "Don't give me that look; you're not getting my new car. That car will only be driven by me!"

"George!" Nora exclaimed, motioning towards herself.

George looked very much like he wanted to argue, but instead, he grimaced, and motioned towards Nora.

"And ... and Nora." he managed to get out, wincing. "It is completely off limits to you and Casey."

"But I've got a date with Loweata Espinoza tonight!" Derek whined, not noticing the way Casey's head snapped up when he said this. "I've got to impress her; she's French."

"Lollita? And she's Spanish." Edwin corrected him instantly, but Derek wasn't listening.

"She's a whore, is what she is!" Casey muttered under her breath, stabbing moodily at her potatoes.

"Casey!" her mother hissed, shocked by her eldest daughter's vulgar language. "Watch your language, young lady."

"What do you have against Lollita?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She's going out with you, isn't she?" Casey bit out, anger spreading across her face more and more by the second. "That should be reason enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

Casey froze. She wasn't quite sure what had made her say that. She had been masking some slight feelings for Derek for quite some time now, even before she had started going out with Max, but she should have known better than to make a comment like that one in front of her whole family. She didn't need them knowing that she had any sort of romantic feelings for Derek; her stepbrother.

"Well if she's going out with you, then she is clearly superficial, most likely easy and probably doesn't have a brain in her head."

"She's on the honor roll, actually." Derek said, smirking at her. "It was her grade point average that made them send her on the exchange trip."

Casey's face fell, but she tried not to let it show too much.

"I bet her English sucks."

"Actually, she's got an accent, it's sort of cute." Derek said, shrugging as he speared a piece of chicken on his fork, and shoved it into his mouth.

"Annoying habits?"

"Not that I can tell."

"Moody?"

"Not at all."

"Bad breath?"

"I'll let you know." Derek said, smirking as he leaned back against his chair, watching as she rolled her eyes and looked away.

"She's still a-"

"Casey!" her mother warned, pointing her fork at her daughter. "Language!"

"Yeah, Casey." Derek mimicked, grinning. "Language."

Casey rolled her eyes at him, and looked away, trying her best to ignore him. Derek grinned, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to annoy Casey.

"Look, Casey," he started, swallowing his food so that she could hear him more clearly. "Just because Lollita is better looking, smarter, smells better, and is generally better than you at everything, doesn't mean you have to get jealous." he said, chuckling. He pulled his best thinking face, before grinning again. "Hey; maybe that's why Max dumped you. Maybe he's trying to hook up with Lollita!"

"He already _did_ hook up with Lollita; you moron!" Casey screamed at him, throwing her fork down onto the table with a clatter. She ignored the surprised look that crossed Derek's face at this piece of information. "And if you want to fuck her, just like you do with every other girl you meet, then that's fine by me! Just beware of STD's; the girl gets around!"

"Don't be such a hypocrite!" Derek laughed, ignoring the angry look that his father was shooting him upon mention of his sex life. "It's not like the whole school doesn't know that you lost your virginity to Max on your sixteenth birthday!"

The whole table went quiet then, and Casey could have sworn that she'd never felt this embarrassed in her life. This beat falling down the stairs at school, or knocking over the garbage can when she was on crutches. It even beat the time she'd made a fool of herself protecting Derek from Ryan. Lizzie and Edwin both had their forks raised halfway to their gaping mouths, Marti was staring around the table innocently, and George and Nora were looking back and forth between both teenagers, unsure of which one they should yell at first.

The silence was only broken when Marti spoke up, sounding genuinely curious.

"What's a virgiody?"

"Virginity, Marti." Edwin corrected her. "And it means that-"

"Edwin!" George said, sending his youngest son a surprised and angry glare.

Edwin shrugged.

"I'm thirteen, not seven." he said, spearing more chicken onto his fork. "I'm very well informed."

"Not you too!" Nora said, burying her face into her hands.

"Don't worry; I'm the good child." Edwin shrugged, returning to his supper. "I stick to facts."

Nora and George tuned him out, and looked back and forth between Casey and Derek, unsure of who to start with.

"Casey!" Nora cried, at the same time George said; "Derek!"

"I don't even know where to begin with you two." Nora said, shaking her head in disappointment. "You two are only sixteen years old. You shouldn't be getting into things like this so early."

"Things like what?" Marti piped up, craning her neck down the table at her stepmother.

"Losing their virginity." Lizzie informed her, taking a sip of her drink.

"Lizzie!" George cried, well aware that they were losing control of their kids.

"Mom, we're teenagers." Casey reminded her, her face beet red. It was clear that she was embarrassed. "We're not going to stay innocent and pure forever."

"You could wait just a _little_ bit longer!" her mother shot out angrily, pushing her food to the side. "For God sakes, you two are barely sixteen!"

"Hel_looo_!" Marti cried, pouting. "Nobody answered my question! Can I help Casey find her Virginity?"

"You think sixteen is bad?" Derek snorted, leaning back in his chair, clearly amused. "Please; mine's been gone since I was fif- uh, never mind."

''That's it!" George cried, throwing his hands in the air, obviously frustrated. "You're _both_ grounded!"

"_What_?" they cried in unison, clearly outraged by this piece of information. They glanced at each other quickly, both perfectly willing to blame the other for their current situation.

"What for?" Casey asked, her mouth still hanging open. "For being normal teenagers? For having relationships? For loving someone enough to-"

"Oh yeah, because cheating on you is a real sign of love, Case." Derek threw in.

He knew instantly that he'd made a mistake. A look of obvious hurt crossed her features, and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I'm going to my room." she said quietly, before pushing her chair back, and dashing towards the stairs.

"We aren't done talking, young lady!" Nora called out after her, expecting her daughter to return to the table.

"I don't care!" Casey yelled at her, before running all the way up the stairs.

A moment later, her door slammed, and the entire table fell silent. Derek sat there with his arms folded, waiting for the anger to be focused on him. Lizzie and Edwin were eating their dinner, immune to Casey and Derek getting yelled at, and wanting to stay out of it. George and Nora sat there, collecting their thoughts, and trying to summon up enough energy to yell at Derek.

After a moment, Marti's voice broke the barrier.

"So ...does that mean Derek and his girly friends can't wrestle and squeak on the bed anymore?"

"Derek, go to your room." George said, burying his face in his hands, frustration plastered across his face.

"But Dad!" Derek cried, panic flooding through him. "My date! She's German!"

"Spanish." Edwin corrected him automatically, chewing absent mindedly on his chicken.

"I don't care what she is; you're not going." George said, waving his fork towards the stairs. "Room; now."

"This is _so_ unfair!" he grumbled, before tossing his fork down, and practically shoving his chair back, going to his own room, where he lay on his bed and silently cursed Casey for starting a fight in the first place. Now he was grounded, and he wouldn't get to go on his date with Lollita. There was always the party, he guessed, unless Max was a real threat to him.

* * *

**There's the first chapter of our story. Now go review, fools )**


	2. Fear and Wanting

**We're back with another chapter! Review! **

**Disclaimer: We don't own anything. Duh.**

**Chapter Two: Want and Fear**

Derek rolled over in his bed. He hadn't been able to sleep well that night. He had been falling asleep and waking up consistently for hours before this point. The thoughts of last night's fight seemed to bounce around like crazy in his head. No matter how hard he tried to get rid of them, the image of Casey, and the sounds of her moaning Max's name made his very skin boil. He had believed what Kendra told him to be nothing more than a rumor, but Casey's reaction at dinner made him think otherwise.

He was contemplating whether or not to get out of bed, or make one more attempt at sleep. Considering how much success he'd had so far, he knew what was best. Derek slowly lifted himself off his bed and into a pair of lightweight pajama pants. Still shirtless, he fumbled blindly in the dark for the doorknob.

Finally grasping it, he pulled the door open as quietly as possible, and made his way downstairs, stumbling over a couple of stray toys that he knew belonged to Marti.

Like any other guy, in the middle of the night, he instantly headed towards the kitchen. As he neared it, he was surprised to see that a light was already on, and that somebody was rooting in t he fridge. He couldn't immediately tell who it was.

"Midnight raid?" he asked, pausing in the doorway.

As the person jumped, there was a bang of a head hitting the roof of the fridge, and he distinctly heard Casey's voice cry;

"Ow!"

She pulled herself away from the fridge, and looked up to see who had walked in on her. Upon seeing that it was Derek, her eyes narrowed, and she practically slammed the fridge door shut, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at him.

"Could you not sneak up on me at four thirty in the morning?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, and taking a seat at one of the barstools. "Haven't you done enough damage for one day?"

"Technically, that was yesterday, and haven't you eaten enough ice-cream to last a lifetime?" Derek shot back, nodding towards the bowl of ice-cream in front of her.

She scowled, and dug her spoon into the ice-cream, shoving more of the stuff into her mouth, just to annoy him. He rolled his eyes, and grabbed another spoon, digging it into her ice-cream, and taking a spoonful. He expected her to pull the bowl away, or at least tell him to get his own ice-cream, but she merely took another spoonful for herself. He decided it was best not to question it; a woman willing to share food shall not be reckoned with.

"So, we're on lockdown together this weekend, I hear?" Derek said, trying to make conversation.

Casey sighed, letting her spoon drop to the counter with a clatter.

"What do you want, Derek?" she asked, ignoring the look of surprise that flashed across his face. "Seriously, what do you want? Not only did you spread a secret that was supposed to be just between me and Max to our family, but you got us both grounded, and probably ruined any respect my mother or sister have for me."

Derek was unsure of which part of her little tirade to answer to first. But she saved him the struggle when she took a deep breath, and went on.

"Did you know my mother wanted me to take a pregnancy test?"

Something like worry flashed across Derek's eyes, and he tensed.

"Could you be?" He wondered, his eyes wide with an emotion that neither of them understood.

Casey shook her head.

"No, we were safe." she said quickly, looking away from him. He sensed that this topic wasn't exactly a fond memory for her. He narrowed his eyes at her, suspecting that something about this was bugging her.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, trying not to sound like he cared too much.

"I just don't get why everyone says your first time should be so special." she shrugged, blushing. "Mine ... mine wasn't. I sort of regret it, actually."

"I know what you mean." He said stabbing his spoon into the ice cream so it stood up on its own.

"You d-do?" Casey stuttered as her eyebrows clenched together.

Derek nodded, and his eyes seemed to dart around the room, but never straying to Casey's.

"I think I've had enough ice cream." Casey said removing Derek's spoon and placing the lid onto the ice-cream before putting the spoons in the sink.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked as she put the ice cream away.

She shrugged as she turned around, with a half hearted smile.

"I'll be okay, but I think it's time I went to bed."

Derek half nodded as he slumped over the counter on his bar stool. His eyes watched her as she left the room and he heard her quietly tip toe up the stairs and shut her door. Derek sighed and stood up, making his way to the fridge. He opened it, and frowned when nothing of interest seemed to pop out at him. He figured it'd be better if he called someone. What could be better than calling someone when you're lonely?

Derek made his way up into his room, yet again stumbling over a few of Marti's misplaced toys.

"Bingo." Derek smiled as he found his cell and dialed the number. "Hey, Sammy. Yeah, I know it's almost five in the morning, 'cause I can't sleep. Ahhh look got a quick question. Need you to do me a favor….hello? Sam? Hello?"

Derek tossed his cell phone onto his computer desk before crawling back into his bed silently. His head was beginning to hurt as he made his way back to his bed. He closed his eyes and tried to think about anything but Casey. Thank god that tomorrow, technically today, was Friday. Derek wasn't sure how he even got through this week without collapsing. Especially in his drama class; he took that class assuming it'd be an easy 'A'. Oh boy was he wrong. The crazy drama teacher had assigned some stupid monologue project.

At that, Derek's eyes shot open. He had completely forgotten that he had to write a monologue, and if he forgot again, the teacher said she'd make him be the tea cup in their musical rendition of 'Beauty and the Beast'.

Derek struggled against his covers as he made his way sloppily back to his computer. He opened a word document and squinted at the florescent white blank page before him. What on earth could he write about? His feelings? Pfft. He was a guy, guys should write about guyish things like… money, hockey, girls, sex, monkeys….

Derek closed his eyes and put a hand to his temple as he strained to remember what the prompt had been, his topic, he did believe was 'Write about wanting.' How ironic.

"Okay…" Derek said talking to himself as he strummed his fingers over the key. "Write about wanting…"

_Wanting: A Monologue_

_By: Derek Venturi _

_We are the people our parents warned us about when we were young. We are the people that have spend most of their time wanting what we don't truly want. We are the people who take when we don't need, the ones who have no choice, only desire."_

Derek stopped typing. Where the hell did that come from? He didn't even know who he was talking about. He read it again…it actually sounded good. Derek shrugged and continued to type until he ran onto the second page. He had even realized he was typing so much; it had felt like a minute, when it had actually been an hour.

"Crap." Derek muttered as he saw on his clock that he only had two more hours till school; he needed sleep. Derek saved the document and clicked print. He climbed into bed to the clinking sound of the paper being stamped with his words.

Casey snuggled into her pillow as the coolness of it made her cheeks flush. She sighed deeply, trying to fall back into a dream. She felt completely happy, except for the need to stretch her back. So she breathed in and rolled onto her left side. She had forgotten that she was close to the edge of the bed, and tumbled off in the cocoon of her comforter, onto the hard floor. There was a loud thunk as her head connected with it.

"Owwww." Casey whined as she struggled to get free of the cocoon's grip, with no luck. Casey knew that this was the start of a horrible morning. With her frustration of now being awake and the fact her head was throbbing and she was couldn't get out of the covers.

After a couple more minutes of tossing and turning, she finally got loose and stood up in a daze, clumsily bumping into her bed. She was sure that was going to leave a bruise. She threw the comforter onto the bed in a heap, and collapsed onto it.

"Crap." She spat into her pillow. There was no way in hell she could fall back asleep now. She opened one eye to look at her clock, only to find it was about the time she normally got up. She groggily got out of bed and walked to her closet to find something to wear to day. She smiled; she just remembered it was Friday. Casey finally decided on wearing a khaki mini skirt with pleats along the sides, to go along with her navy blue, low cut, cropped shirt, and a pair of strappy wedges. Casey turned to her vanity to do her hair and makeup.

"Perfect." Casey muttered to herself as she placed a coat of clear lip-gloss on her lips.

"I beg to differ." A smooth deep voice said coming from her doorway. Casey's eyes snapped up to see a very tired Derek leaning against her doorway, smirking, and still in pajamas, with his hair all ruffled up.

"Morning." Casey drawled, making a mental note not to let Derek make her morning any worse than it already was. Derek just rolled his eyes as he made his way back into his room. He pulled out a pair of faded jeans and a dark green shirt and shoved them on, not bothering to fix his messy hair.

"Derek?"

"What?" Derek slurred, sticking his head out his door.

"Did you forget to do your monologue for Drama Class?" Casey smiled with an evil edge to her voice.

"Got it right here." Derek said, reaching behind him and extracting the paper from his desk. Casey's evil smiled turned into a frown.

"Well, I don't want to walk today, can I have a ride?" She asked as she grabbed her messenger bag and shoved her purple note book into it.

"Whatever, I leave in four minutes." Derek said shutting his door to find his wallet and cell phone again.

Casey collected the rest of her notebooks and books, remembering to grab her poetry book, which contained her monologue for Drama Class; she was actually shocked that Derek had remembered to do it for a change. Well, Mrs.Zeldin had threatened him with a part in the musical…

"Case, let's go." Derek yelled as he hopped down the stairs, waiting at the landing he swung a scarf around his neck. Casey bit back the urge to mock him. She had always thought that the yellow and navy blue scarf made him look like he belonged in the Harry Potter movies. But she needed a ride, so mocking him was definitely not the best idea ... yet, anyway.

Casey made her way down the stairs slowly, but on the second last step, her wedge caught hold of one of Marti's toys, and she flew face forward towards the landing.

Luckily, Derek was still standing there, and he managed to turn around in time to catch her. It wasn't a very comfortable or natural position, for as soon as Casey made contact with Derek, she latched her legs around his waist, making him stagger back until he hit the railing. Her arms looped around his neck and she pulled tight out of fear, sending him face into her cleavage; while his hands clung to the railing to keep him from falling down.

"CASEY!" Derek muffled from her chest.

"Oh my God." Casey said, trying to piece together a coherent thought or sentence. She loosened her legs and stretched them out, before hitting the ground and releasing Derek from her death grip. Derek emerged, gasping for air.

"You have no idea how sorry I am." Casey begged, seeing Derek's eyes widen in shock. "I tripped."

"We will never speak of this again." Derek said eyes still big and mouth slightly open.

Casey nodded hurriedly as she grabbed her coat and walked out the front door. Derek, still dealing with the shock of his face being sent into the chest of his apparently appealing step sister, quickly grabbed his leather jacket and closed the front door behind him.

Making his way to his Jeep, he glanced through the windshield to see Casey pull up her top as she saw him heading her way. He climbed into the driver's seat and started up the car. They were at school within five minutes. Derek didn't even have time to think before Casey was out of the car. She definitely didn't want to talk to, or see Derek for at least a good hour or so.

Derek didn't really pay attention all throughout his first class, not that he ever did, but more so in his classes today. His mind kept wandering back to Casey, and it was driving him crazy.

Between that, and trying to avoid Lollita, his morning was fairly hectic. He didn't really want to run into her, after basically blowing off their date yesterday, and not bothering to call. Unfortunately for him, he knew he couldn't avoid either Casey or Lollita all day, because they were both in his Drama Class.

"Mr. Venturi, did you remember to do your assignment?" Mrs. Zeldin greeted him as he walked through the door into the theatre.

"Like always." he grinned, holding it up as Mrs. Zeldin gave a shocked and proud smile.

After a couple more minutes of people flooding in and out of the classroom, Derek spotted Casey and Emily chatting and laughing about something as they entered the classroom. At the same time, Sam sat down next to him, and began to talk about hockey, although Derek wasn't really listening. He was busy searching for…

Derek gulped.

Lollita.

"Deerrrickkk." Her 'r's rolled making his name sound extra sexy, and quite spicy.

"Lollita." Derek smiled, jumping out of his seat.

"You no show lasta night." she said, her lips pursed rudely, and her left eyebrow raised high as to state an accusation.

"I'm sorry; I got in trouble for...umm..." Derek closed his mouth at that; he didn't want to come off as a slut. Wait; did he just call himself a slut? He sighed. "I just got grounded."

"Grounded?" She said her accent made it sound so cute and innocent, yet very pissed and annoyed.

"It means... not allowed to leave the house." Derek said frowning a bit.

"Oh, you poor thing." Lollita purred as her arms encircled his neck, bring her lips to his ear. She pressed her body up against him as she lightly spoke. "So you still come to party tonight. I want to...thank you, for being so kind to me."

Derek felt numb; all he managed to squeak out was a 'Muhyea." Then the thought of Casey's body pushed up against him entered his mind, and made him smile. He quickly frowned before shaking his head to get rid of the thought.

"You Kay?" Lollita asked, letting go of him and standing back, looking confused.

"Yeah." He said, not entirely convinced.

"Class! Class!" Mrs. Zeldin yelled, walking onto the stage. "Let us spend the first half of class working on our projects!"

"Dude, you're going to the party tonight, right?"

"Can't, grounded." Derek sighed.

"You just told Lollita, you were going." Sam said.

"Crap," Derek hissed, pressing his hands against his forehead, before shrugging. "Whatever; it's no big deal. I'll just sneak out."

"You'd better; it's supposed to be awesome." Sam laughed, before continuing his chat about hockey.

"What's your poem about?" Emily asked Casey.

"Fear."

"Oh, mine is about rage. Like how Noel is totally checking you out." Emily said, elbowing Casey suggestively.

"Oh my gosh. Really?" Casey smiled, fixing her hair and crossing her legs.

"Definitely flirting with you; I think he is going to ask you out tonight at the party."

"I can't go, I got grounded." Casey sighed, disappointment flooding through her.

"No, you have to go. I know Noel is going to ask you out." Emily said begging.

"I can't Em."

"Casey, you need too-"

"Take your seats, please!" Mrs. Zeldon called out, cutting off Emily.

"This isn't over." Emily said to Casey warningly.

Everyone dispersed and sat down, waiting patiently for instruction.

"We have Monologues and Poems due Today." she announced, clapping her hands together with a smile. "Casey, would you be so kind as to go first?"

"Sure." Casey bit the inside of her cheek, contemplating something. She stood up and took the stage, flipping the pages of her poem book till she found the desired page. "I am Casey McDonald. I am doing a that poem I wrote on my topic; fear."

_"I should have said no_

_We should have stopped; he told me to relax, to let him hit the spot_

_I began to giggle, but that soon turned to a cry_

_I couldn't speak; my mouth felt dry_

_His smile was deceiving; my eyes were clenched shut_

_Then it was over, as soon as it began_

_I felt hollow and empty_

_Everything was cold and damp_

_But fake a smile, hide a tear_

_Nothing like living your darkest fear_

_But something surprised me, in the end_

_I found solitude and comfort_

_In an unlikely friend"_

As Casey closed her notebook, she felt pairs of eyes on her, and she instantly regretted sharing something so personal with the entire class. Maybe no one had understood what she was saying. But then her eyes caught Derek's, only for a milli-second, and she somehow felt more relaxed about it.

"Oh excellent, Casey!" Mrs. Zeldin shrieked with joy, completely oblivious. "Sam?"

Sams sighed as he shoved his hand in his pocket and revealed a worn out piece of notebook paper. He slowly made his way up to the stage. "Hey, I'm Sam and this is my poem thingy about my hat."

_"Seriously, what's wrong with it_

_It's blue, I like blue_

_So what if it makes my head look like it's being squished together?_

_It's really comfortable_

_Fugly isn't even a word _

_So what?_

_I love this hat_

_Enough, just let me where it"_

There were a few random claps and a giggle from one of the girls. Sam sat down next to Derek in a rather unhappy mood.

"That was umm... interesting, Sam." Mrs. Z said scribbling in her workbook. "Derek Venturi, you're next."

Derek gave a nod and walked onto the stage; he was a little nervous. His monologue was longer than everyone else's poems, so far. "Umm..." Derek scratched his head. "I'm Derek; my monologue was about wanting or whatever… so... yeah."

_"We are the people our parents warned us about when we were young. We are the people that have spend most of their time wanting what we don't truly want. We are the people who take when we don't need, the ones who have no choice, only desire. Some believe that they don't want, they need. Needing is not the same as wanting; wanting to touch her shoulder, wanting to hold her in your arms, wanting to kiss her every time she looks at you. I need to touch her shoulder, I need to hold her in my arms, I need to kiss her every time I see her, but I can't. That isn't wanting or desire, that is passion. Passion is what gives us the strife to continue each day, to make the effort, to go the extra mile. Wanting her is what keeps me going; it's the chase which makes the prize all the sweeter."_

There was silence, in which Derek looked up to see shocked faces. Then Emily began clapping, and slowly, everyone else started clapping too. It was like a wave of sound had come crashing onto the stage. Derek gave a weak smile as he walked off the stage and back to his chair.

"Derek, that was so… wonderful. I am truly impressed!!" Mrs.Zeldon said, smiling. "Okay, next is Lollita Espinoza!"

She stood up and giggled as she walked onto the stage and opened her mouth, her eyes wide with excitement.

"My poem is called 'what is in my pocket?'"

_What is in my pocket?_

_It is bumpy and round._

_It is also shiny and bumpy._

_I put it in my pocket this morning._

_But now I forget_

_Ooops, it's my cell phone."_

She stopped smiling, waiting for a response. "Is done!" she said pointedly.

"Oh." Mrs. Z said, forcing a smile. "Well then, umm... great job." There were some scarce claps and Lollita frowned.

"True talent is not appreciated in this country." she huffed, before storming off the stage, and back to her seat. Derek wanted to give her some sort of reassuring smile, but he was too busy trying to fight back laughter. Seriously, the girl was dense. He sighed, and as the bell rang, he stood up with the rest of his classmates and made his way towards the door. Him and Casey were two of the last people to leave, and, just as he was about to go out through the classroom door, Casey grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him back inside. He pulled his arm away, finding her contact somewhat intrusive, yet comforting. And he didn't like that.

'What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her questioningly.

She blushed, and shrugged, looking as though she was regretting pulling him back in the first place.

"I, uhh... I just really wanted to congratulate you on your... on your monologue." she admitted, glancing away quickly. "It's unlike you to do homework in the first place, but that was really... well, uh, good job."

Derek stared at her questioningly, looking as though he had just been smacked over the head with a broom.

"What did you break?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest defensively. "Was it my stereo, again?"

She rolled her eyes, and relaxed a bit.

"I didn't break anything." she said, giving him an annoyed look. "I've said all I had to say. Anyway, I've got to go. See you later."

With that said, she brushed past him, and darted off down the hallway after Emily.

Derek stood there, completely stumped, for a whole minute. Casey never complimented him... especially when it came to schoolwork.

"That was definitely weird." he muttered to himself, before shaking his head and wandering off towards the cafeteria to meet up with Sam.

He was definitely having a weird day.

* * *

**Go review! ) **


	3. Dreams Worth Discovering

**Due to insane school issues, chapter three had a bit of a late update, but that would be Syd's fault, not Anna's. This chapter would probably still be unfinished if not for Anna :) Anyways, thanks for all the reviews, and please do so again. **

**Disclaimer: We own nothing. **

**Chapter Three: Dreams Worth Discovering**

"Oh no."

"She's started."

"This isn't happening."

"Which subject you think it is this time? I'm going with English."

"It's gotta be here somewhere."

"Nah; I'll take Math."

"Der_ek_!"

"Bingo."

Casey appeared on the landing of the stairs in the living room, looking vaguely panicked. She was breathing heavily, and glancing around the room quickly. She started darting around like mad, turning everything upside down in her search.

"What are you looking for, Case?" Derek asked, his eyes glued to the television. "Your dignity, a platypus, Waldo, eternal happiness?"

"Some peace and quiet?" she suggested angrily, glaring at him. "Not to mention my math book, which is nowhere to be seen."

Edwin groaned, and Derek grinned, basking in the glow of his small personal victory.

"I win." he gloated, smirking. "I always win."

Casey's head snapped up from underneath the table, and she peered at her two step-brothers curiously, a look of understanding dawning across her features. She placed her hands on her hips, and walked up beside Derek's chair, staring down at the two of them suspiciously.

"Did you two make a bet on what I was panicking over?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I...well you see, we... uh..." Edwin stammered nervously, but Derek shrugged and nodded.

"Yup." he said shamelessly. "And I won; as usual. Ed, I expect you to do my chores for the next week."

Edwin's jaw dropped, and he stared at his older brother in disbelief.

"B-But...you never made that a part of the deal!" he sputtered, his eyes wide. "Y-You..."

"I said, I expect you to do my chores for the rest of the week." he repeated, taking a handful of chips and shoving them into his mouth. "Was something about that hard to grasp? Or would two weeks help your hearing?"

Edwin stiffened, and leaned back against the couch again, blushing.

"One week it is." he murmered, returning his focus to the TV.

Casey wanted to yell at them some more about using her as a source of entertainment, but she thought better of it. She had an upcoming math test, and she couldn't afford to sacrifice any study time over her stupid step-brothers and their betting. If she skipped studying to lecture them everytime they made a stupid bet, she'd never pass another test again.

She sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Derek, have you seen my math book?" she asked, already knowing what his answer would be.

Predictably, he shook his head, stuffing more chips into his mouth, and staring at the TV with lazy eyes. Casey tried not to let his lack of focus bother her.

"Well then do you have yours home?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I need to study and I know you probably won't even open a book tonight."

Derek brushed the crumbs off of his t-shirt, before wiping his greasy fingers on the armrests of his chair. He finally wrenched his eyes away from the screen long enough to look up at her, and laugh.

"Tell me, do I _look_ like the sort of guy who would spend a Friday night with their nose poked into a book?" he asked her, making sure to give her an almost scornful look. "Sorry, I've got better things to be doing."

She groaned, and rolled her eyes, pressing her hand up against her forehead in frustration. Suddenly an idea occurred to her, and she bit her lip, smiling innocently.

"Oh, Derek?" she asked sweetly, kneeling down to eye level with him.

He turned towards her, his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion at her proximity, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah?" he got out, studying her carefully. "What's so important that your face has to be within like... a foot of mine?"

Casey disregarded this comment, and rushed on.

"Could you maybe, possibly, perhaps, _consider_ driving me back to school to get my book?" she asked, grinning hopefully. "Please? I need it."

"Are you kidding me? I'm grounded." he said, turning back to the TV. "Get lost."

She gripped his wrist tightly, trying to bring his attention back to her. It got his attention, alright. He pulled away as though her touch had burned, and narrowed is eyes at her angrily.

"Don't touch me." he said, but his voice wasn't bitter. It was almost... confused. She shrugged it off as nothing, and continued.

"Please, Derek."

"I'm grounded." he dismissed, attempting to watch his show. "No thanks to you."

"Since when has being grounded ever stopped you before?" she asked, confused. "Besides, Mom and George aren't even home yet, and I think this counts as an emergency. We've got a test on Monday, and I've got to study. I could've sworn I put my book back in my bag after class."

"That's your own mistake." he shrugged. "I said no. Now, leave me alone."

She sighed, slumping her shoulders in defeat.

"Fine..." she said slowly. "Well then could I borrow your car?"

Derek choked on his chips, leaning forward to attempt to breathe again. Casey leaned back, and Edwin studied him with curiosity.

When he surfaced, his eyes were wide and his face was beet red.

"You want to... b-borrow my Jeep, my Vivian?!" he asked, laughing. "That's funny, Casey. I didn't know you had a sense of humor."

"Vivian?"

"Yeah."

Casey paused, soaking in all that he'd said.

"I was being serious."

The smile wiped right off his face, and he shook his head sternly.

"Absolutely not." he refused, folding his arms across his chest. "No way in hell. No one gets to drive my baby but me."

Casey sighed, trying to think of another way to convince him to either let her borrow the Jeep, or drive her.

Just as she was about to give up, the doorbell rang, and she jumped up to answer it.

Peering out the glass panel of the front door, she saw the figure of Noel standing on the other side. Her heart skipped a beat, and she gasped. What was Noel doing here? He had never dropped by before.

Straightening up her shirt, and attempting to smooth down her hair, Casey pulled open the door, peering at him curiously.

"N-Noel..." she stammered, surprised. "What are you...how did you..."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could've sworn that she saw Derek roll his eyes, but she didn't bother to look twice. She looked back at Noel to see him grinning sheepishly, and holding up her math textbook. She gasped, and took it from his hands.

"You left this behind in math." he shrugged, blushing. "I tried calling after you, but I guess you didn't hear me. I figured you might need this to study for the test on Monday, so I came here to give it to you."

Casey could have sworn she heard a snort, and a whispered 'what a wuss' come from Derek's corner of the room, and she prayed that Noel hadn't heard him. Noel, however, did not seem to have noticed any side-comments from Derek, and merely leaned against the front door casually.

"Thanks, Noel." she said happily, tucking her book under her arm. "It means a lot that you'd do that. At least _some _guys know how to be nice."

"No problem. I mean, I like to treat a girl with _respect_."

Derek's eyes shot to Noels and he raised an eyebrow questioningly. Casey smiled, but then paused with an unsure expression; it seemed like they were fighting over her? Nah, that was ridiculous.

"Noel, do you want to come in?" Casey purred. Torturing Derek was going to be fun. "We could you know, get something to drink, something to eat? Go study in my room... alone?" she said, placing a hand teasingly on his chest, and giving him a coy smile.

Derek's eyes shot to hers.

"A-a-alone? In y-your room?" Noel's voice squeaked a little, but he cleared his throat and beamed over at Derek. "Love to."

"Casey, we're grounded. We aren't allowed anyone in the house _to study_." Derek fakely smiled to Noel.

"Derek, Derek, Derek when are you going to learn? I am all about breaking the rules these days." she said, raising an eyebrow. "You've always told me to lighten up, maybe it's about time I did."

Derek gulped as she turned around and led Noel upstairs, leaving his blood boiling. His head turned to the sound of shoes shuffling on the stairs and then Casey popped her head out. "And who said we'd _only _be studying?" she asked, sounding as innocent as possible, before turning around and walking back upstairs.

Derek cringed at the slamming of Casey's bedroom door, and Edwin took notice of his brother's negativity towards the situation.

"You seem worried." Edwin observed, flipping through the channels casually.

"Nah, I mean they _are_ studying." Derek said, trying to act cool about the situation.

"Derek, you know, I know, Casey knows and even Noel knows. They are NOT going to be doing Casey's kind of studying; they are going to be doing _your_ kind of studying." Edwin laughed, not paying attention to Derek anymore.

Derek's eyes zoned out, trying very hard not to picture Casey's tongue down Noel's throat or his hand on her breas—

"I NEED MY PROTRACTOR!" Derek yelled, shooting out of his arm chair and running upstairs.

'_Protractor_?' Edwin mouthed to Lizzie, who had been remaining silent throughout this whole ordeal. She shrugged cordially and they continued to watch their show.

Derek paced in his room, running a hand through his hair. For reasons unknown, he pressed his ear up against his left wall. He heard the clear and distinct sound of Casey giggling.

He jumped away from the wall as though it had burned him.

"Calm down, Derek... you're losing it!" he said to himself, breathing in deeply as he took a seat on his bed. "I mean this is _Casey_; she has only just broken up with Max and she's vulnerable..." he trailed off, a horrified expression coming over his face instantly. "...and there is a horny teenage boy ten feet away from her that wants nothing more than to have sex with her right now. Stupid Noel." Derek mumbled as he flopped down onto his bed.

Derek sighed as he crawled up into his pillows and tried to take a nap. Considering his lack of sleep from the night before, this didn't take long. Soon, he was in a deep sleep.

_Casey was sitting at the end of her bed, wearing a top that was much too small for her, and a skirt way too short for her. Noel was on the other side of the bed leaning up against the pillows in a James Bond tuxedo with a math book in his hand._

"_Oh Casey, I love…studying with you." Noel sighed in a much manlier accent than usual._

"_Oh Noel." Casey cooed as she turned to show her exposed cleavage to him._

"_Let's play a little game, Casey." Noel cooed._

"_Anything for you."_

"_Every time you get a question right, you have to remove a piece of clothing." he smiled._

"_I love this game, I played it all the time with Max." She giggled, sitting up on her knees on the end of the bed._

"_Good, now what's your name?" he smirked._

"_Casey McDonald." _

_She removed her top._

"_Good, and how old are you?" _

"_A sweet, innocent age of sixteen." she said, sliding of her skirt. _

"_What's your favorite color?"_

"_These are too easy." She whined. "And purple." She said as the satin heels came off._

"_Fine, how about we skip the games and go right to the best part?" He said standing up and Casey rising to meet him._

"_Finally." She said as she attacked his lips, passionately kissing him. Derek's view of the dream changed to a bird's eye view._

_They were on the bed, heavily making out. His hands working their way up and down her back teasing the bra strap, which seemed like it was going to break any second. Suddenly, Casey moved her head and Noel was no longer the boy under Casey's straddle, but it was Derek himself._

"_Oh God, Derek... I want you so badly." she moaned._

"_Casey." he muttered._

"_I like a big boy." She smiled as she ripped off his shirt and started to kiss him up and down, Derek returning the favor by finally unclasping the bra. Suddenly they were both under the covers of her bed. Casey's eyes locked with Derek's and she pressed up against him._

"_Derek." she cooed._

"_Finally." he smirked._

"_Derek." Casey moaned._

"_Casey…" Derek muttered back._

Derek woke with a start, just as the dream was getting a little more graphic.

"Whoa!" Derek yelled with a start. "That was…hot."

- - - -

"Is Derek okay?" Noel asked as he heard a yell through the wall.

"Yeah, yeah. He's fine…" Casey said dreamily.

"So Casey... I was wondering." Noel said, smiling. "Would you…maybe like to go…with me to…the party tonight?"

Casey's eyes lit up; this is exactly what she needed to do to forget about Max.

"Noel, I'd love to."

A smirk instantly appeared on Noel's face, but he covered it with a genuine smile.

"Well, I actually have to go now. I have to pick my sister up from soccer, but can I meet you there?" he suggested with a smile.

"Yeah, that sounds great. I'll see you there." Casey said, trying to hide her excitement.

He smiled as he opened the door and walked out, bumping right into Derek and sending him stumbling into her room.

Casey glanced up from her spot on the bed, confused.

"Derek?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Derek looked at Casey and the image from his dream of them about to have sex flashed into his mind.

He cringed, shaking his head.

"Whoah..." he muttered, running a desperate hand through his hair. He needed these thoughts to go away, and quickly.

"What?" Casey asked, her eyebrows scrunched together tightly. She looked completely and utterly lost.

Suddenly, her eyes dropped a bit lower, and she glanced back up at him, biting her lip.

"Umm, Derek…your jeans look a little tight; maybe you shouldn't put them in the dryer for so long." Casey suggested, trying her best to sound innocent.

Derek looked down and immediately freaked, noticing what she had, but knowing that it wasn't from the dryer. He glanced back up at his stepsister, trying his best to regain his composure.

"Wow Casey, thanks for giving me an update on my crotch." he smirked, watching as her face fell.

"Your sick." she got out, shaking her head in disgust.

"No, I'm a sixteen year old guy, Casey." he reminded her, raising an eyebrow. "Do you honestly think Sam, Max, or even Noel don't have ulterior motives when they're asking you out? Because I can assure you, I'm not the only guy who's had do walk around with his pants a little too tight every once in a while."

Casey rolled her eyes.

"Me and Sam had a real relationship, thank you." Casey said, loving the look of anger that swept over his face at this. "One that involved a lot more than desperate, raging hormones. And yes, Derek, there _is _such a thing as having a relationship without a cheap motel room being involved."

"Oh, so we're back to you and Max." he noted coldly, unable to stop the words from tumbling from his mouth.

The second he stopped talking, he cringed, hating the hurt look that swept over her face.

"Casey," he started, but she shook her head, standing up frantically.

"Get out." she spat at him, storming towards him angrily.

"Casey, would you calm-"

"_Out_!" she hissed, pressing her hands firmly against his chest and shoving him out of the room, watching as he stumbled into the banister by the staircase.

"Would you-"

"And for your information, I've moved on from Max." she said, smiling bitterly. "In fact, I've got a date with Noel tonight."

Derek snorted.

"Like he's any better than Max. Dude's got a one track mind, and I can tell you what he expects at the end of the night."

Casey studied him with a look of disgust, before shaking her head at him in disagreement.

"Not all guys are shallow like you, Derek." she informed him coldly. "Like Noel said, he treats girls with respect."

"Bullshit." he muttered angrily, unable to believe that Casey was just buying this guy's lies so easily.

She rolled her eyes.

"I don't have time for you and your...problem." she said, her eyes darting downwards again, before returning to his face. "Go resolve all your issues somewhere else, and leave me to get ready in peace."

"But-"

"Goodbye, Derek." she said, before slamming the door in his face, and retreating from the door.

Derek stared at the closed door for a moment, considering arguing his point further, but he decided against it, and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Stupid Casey." he murmured as he wandered off, shaking his head.

- - - - - -

"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Nora asked Casey one more time, shouldering her purse. "It'll be fun."

"Our family seated around a small table in a public restaurant..." Casey said, pulling her best thinking face and chewing the end of her pencil. "I think I'll take a pass."

Nora looked disappointed, but merely sighed, turning to her stepson.

"What about you, Derek?" she asked hopefully. "Are you up for the dinner? Your father is real proud of his promotion. Don't you want to show him how happy you are for him?"

Derek raised an eyebrow at her. Hadn't she gotten to know him at all over the past year or so?

"Let me think..." he said, close to laughter. "Mmm, no."

Nora's face fell, and he sighed.

"Come on; my Dad knows I'm happy for him. It's just... I've got this..."

Casey looked up at him, an idea springing to mind. All she had to do was cover for Derek, and he'd owe her. She needed a way out of the house that night, and she knew Derek would be sneaking off to the party.

Reacting instantly, she cut him off.

"Math test." she said, picking up her book and displaying it to her mother. "See? It's on Monday and I... I promised that I'd help Derek study."

Derek shot her a confused look, clearly wondering how she'd gone from being mad at him, to willingly offering him an easy out. Her mother wore a similar expression, turning to Casey with millions of questions on hand.

"You promised to...what?" she asked, disbelief lining her voice.

Casey's eyes met with Derek's for a brief moment, and she looked back up at her mother.

"Study. We've got the same test." she said. When her mother still looked uncertain, she rushed on. "He agreed to stop calling me Spacey for a week."

Nora still didn't look totally convinced, but when George and the younger three kids entered the living room from the kitchen, she shrugged it off and turned towards the door.

"Whatever you say." she sighed, shaking her head.

"What's your plan Sherlock?" Casey said eyeing his smirk.

"Oh why sister I have no earthly idea what you mean." He said sweetly.

"Cut the crap, whats your plan?"

"My plan is to sneak out." Derek said plainly.

"We're taking the van, because your dad doesn't want to put everyone in his new car, so don't touch the new car. We are going to be out late, we are going to stop by your dads secret surprise promotion party."

Both teens nodded, clearly uninterested. Derek's gaze returned back to the TV, and Casey's to her math book.

George ushered the younger three out the door, and Nora followed, turning once more in the doorway to speak to Derek and Casey.

"And don't you dare leave this house." she warned. "We took the keys to Derek's jeep anyway, but if I find out you went behind our backs and left some other way, we'll double your punishments."

Casey gave her mother a reassuring smile, being sure to cross her fingers behind her back.

"Don't worry." she dismissed innocently. "We're not going anywhere."

Nora smiled, and turned to her stepson.

"Derek?" she asked, causing him to turn his head in recognition. "Don't leave, okay?"

Derek shrugged, turning back to the TV.

"Whatever." he droned, sounding completely bored.

Nora did not look totally satisfied with this answer, and rolled her eyes, turning back to Casey.

"Watch him." she whispered, before turning and leaving the house, closing the door behind her.

The second they heard the van start up, and drive off down the road, Derek turned to Casey.

"What's the catch?" he asked, flicking off the TV and tossing the remote onto the coffee table. She raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. "Why'd you stick up for me, what do you want?"

She closed her math book, tucking it under her arm, and sitting up straight on the couch.

"I'm coming with you." she said, smirking. "To the party, but how are we going to get there?"

"W-we?" Derek coked.

"Yes we as in I saved your butt now you are going to drive mine to the party…"

"Er, right...snatched Dad's car keys earlier..." he said cautiously. "You seriously want me to take you?"

"Want? No. Take? Yes." Her smirk grew wider.

"And if I don't?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

She shrugged.

"I'll call Mom and George the second you leave and tell them you're gone. And then, you'll be busted."

Derek blew out a slow and patient breath. He could take Casey with him, and have to watch her all over Noel the whole night, or he could refuse her, and be forced to come home early.

He looked back up at her, his mind made up.

"You don't breathe a word of this to Dad and Nora." he said sternly, giving her a serious look. "Oh, and I'm driving. We leave in ten minutes."

She nodded, a pleasant smirk creeping onto her face.

Tonight was going to be a night to remember.

* * *

**So there you have it. Review!**


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